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September 2018Monday 24 September 2018 was a Public Holiday in Perth and it was a beautiful sunny day and as it had almost been two years since we last visited, we took the opportunity to go back again. We enjoyed a walk around the lake, lunch at the quaint tea shop and I took lots of photos – I came across two Splendid Blue Wrens (such an apt name!) that were less timid than usual, probably because they were used to seeing more people in their environment. This was lucky for me and I finally managed to get some half decent photos.

I would recommend this place to everyone, just remember to take any rubbish home with you as there is so much wildlife that could potentially be harmed if you don’t.

Australian Wood Duckling

Australian Wood Duckling

Australian Wood Duck with her brood of 13!

Splendid Blue Wren

Splendid Blue Wren

Splendid Blue Wren

Splendid Blue Wren

Splendid Blue Wren with its attention turned to the sky!

Australian Wood Duck

Australian Wood Duck

Australian Wood Ducklings

Splendid Blue Wren

Australian Wood Duckling

Natural Bee Hive

Pink and Grey Galah

Koala

Koala

Koala

Koala

Resting Kangaroo

Kangaroo

Not quite sure what this bird is, maybe a Pardalote or Yellow Rumped Thornbill

Pink Fairy Orchid

October 2016Yanchep National Park is a wonderful place to visit for all ages, even just for a couple of hours, or for a full day, depending on what you feel like doing. You can take a picnic, have lunch at the historic Yanchep Inn, walk around a number of nature trails, visit Koalas in a natural setting and investigate a number of caves. The park is also home to Western Grey Kangaroos which you are more likely to see early or late in the day.

When we visited in October there was a decent amount of water in the lake (last time we visited in June 2015, the water was exceptionally low). It was still much lower than it must have been in the past – in earlier years it was used for boating and the boarding stations now are nowhere near any water, and will likely never to be used again.

The old boating lake platforms – Yanchep National Park

Yanchep Lake

Koala – Yanchep National Park

Koala – Yanchep National Park (2)

Koala – Yanchep National Park (3)

Koala – Yanchep National Park (4)

Koala – Yanchep National Park (5)

Koala – Yanchep National Park (6)

Koala – Yanchep National Park (7)

Magpie on the look out for food at Yanchep Historic Inn – Yanchep National Park

Twenty Eight Parrot on the look out for food at Yanchep Historic Inn – Yanchep National Park

Twenty Eight Parrot on the look out for food at Yanchep Historic Inn – Yanchep National Park (2)

Nannup is in the South West Region of Western Australia and approximately a three hour drive from Perth. We went away for a four night/five day break with our dog Millie, just to get out of the City and enjoy the countryside which was very green with the amount of recent rainfall. Weather was subsequently a bit hit and miss with a lot of rain in the second half of the break, but we were still able to get out and about to enjoy the area.

We stayed in a self catering cottage which was very basic but they allowed dogs so that was fine with us and it had a log burning fire which kept the cottage warm and toasty.

Nannup is famous for two festivals – its Music Festival in March and its Garden and Flower Festival in August, so although we missed the latter by a week, we did enjoy seeing the village in full bloom with multiple colourful displays of tulips.

We also visited the attractive country town of Bridgetown. It was festooned in knitted items and a local told us that this was because it had recently attempted to win the Guinness Book of Records for yarn bombing – and it succeeded with 29,549 individually knitted items on display wherever we looked. The previous record holder was in the UK with less than half this amount.

Another stop was at Donnelly River Holiday Village. The basic weatherboard cottages were originally built to house mill workers at the local mill. This closed long ago but is still visible albeit in a ruined state. The cottages are now rented out to holidaymakers. This was our first holiday stay choice but unfortunately they don’t take dogs which is why we ended up in Nannup. However, we took a drive around with Millie in the back of the car. I was able to get out for a walk and and it wasn’t long before I was surrounded by emus and kangaroos which had no fear of humans at all. As I was the only person in sight, it was nice to enjoy the experience by myself.

We found this poor bat dead and a little bit smelly in the bathroom sink of our self catering cottage!

Deer on the farm we were staying at

Swollen due to recent rainfall

Swollen due to recent rainfall

Swollen due to recent rainfall

Swollen after recent rainfall and still rising!

Won’t be long before this rubbish ends up down river – shame it wasn’t emptied before the waters rose.

Nannup in Bloom

Nannup in Bloom

Nannup in Bloom

Winners of the 2019 Guinness Book of Records for Yarn Bombing – 29,549 individually crocheted and knitted items hanging up around the town.

I live just five kilometres from this beautiful urban park but am ashamed to say – and my husband even more so, as he has lived in Fremantle since birth – that we didn’t know it existed and yet it is Fremantle’s only ‘bush forever’ park. It has beautiful Jarrah, Marri and Tuart trees, and is indicative of what the whole of the area would have looked like before occupation.

It is home to over 50 bird species, reptiles and bats and to date is my favourite urban park. I’m not sure whether it is the time of year I visited, or the variety of vegetation, but there seemed to be much more active bird life, so much so, that by the end of my visit I had a sore neck from looking upwards all the time!

With urban encroachment, we must all do what we can to protect these natural environments, not just for our own wellbeing but for the native animals that rely on them.

It’s the middle of winter here in Perth, but it isn’t unusual to have beautiful weather even now. Today wasn’t one of those days – it was cool, the odd brief glimpse of sun peeking out from behind multiple clouds which predictably offloaded their contents every now and again. However, I was still able to get a few photographs of some native flowers whilst I was searching for a bird that I could hear, but not see – I thought the raindrops on some of them, made them even more beautiful.

The Greener Pastures Sanctuary crossed my radar in April whilst reading a West Australian article about it in one of the weekend supplements. It is a wonderful organisation that receives no Government funding and works tirelessly rescuing farm animals from terrible conditions so that they can live their lives in peace, and surrounded by love and kindness.

They run regular tours of the Sanctuary and I visited last weekend armed with a donation of apples, pumpkin and tomatoes.

You can read the original article in the link below and the website is also shown below, should you wish to find out more information about the charity.

Pink flowering gum

The gentle natured resident dog

Finished off the sanctuary tour with lunch at a lovely spot on the Murray River.

I can thoroughly recommend this unexpectedly lovely urban oasis in Perth – the unusually named Tomato Lake which is a haven for wetland birds, especially the Australian White Ibis – there is huge (and noisy!) colony in residence at close quarters to visitors so a great place for the keen photographer to visit. Dogs are allowed on leads too.

It is popular with families especially at weekends and it has a cafe with very reasonably priced drinks and food. This was our first visit but we will definitely return.

We’ve discovered a B&B just an hour’s drive from home which lives up to its name – Picture Perfect B&B (in Bedfordale) with local attractions including Churchman Brook Dam, Wungong Dam and the Last Drop Elizabethan Pub.

The pub was our first stop with Millie constantly on the look out for food!

Waiting for the ‘OK’ Command!‘OK’ Command just issued!

Although the weather was less than ideal, the accommodation more than made up for that and the grounds were a magnet for birds and kangaroos. Can’t wait to go back sometime soon. They don’t normally accept dogs, but because Millie was so well behaved they made an exception for her.

I can thoroughly recommend this B&B for anyone that would like to get out of the city for a day or two to recharge their batteries.